Earring



Dec. 30, 1947. i M. c. SCHOBER ETAL 1 EARRING Filed Oct. 5, 1946 l'Nl/EMTO}? MARY C. Scwwaa Pmup E.SCHOBER ,WWZ;WZ%

Patented bee.

A *UN 111:1)

1 "ZOFF-ICE It is" the genera 'p'raetioe to Construct earring-s I as unitary articles in'whioh the ear lobe clamp is fixed or otherwisseciired to the ornameri-tal 'portion thereoi. -Md'reoverfthe elamp means and earring orh'amenthavefbeen, of necessity, mu-

6 tual lyfinterdependent parts 'sinoe the "olamp' is *"a-dapted to engage-"the ear" lobe "and'pressd it "against the reverse side 'of'the armament, "As a consequencejof thisprior construction, in'which *eah earrihgfor'nament requires cla'1'npingrneans,

"' it is incumbent upon thew'e'arer to have a'yariety of earrings for use with variations in attire. Ifhe pre sent invention has as a principal'object v theiiriprovement in';earring *donstruotion'whereby r h ear.icb em in me nsji l' r h' i inde- "uti'lizedwithremovable andintercharigeable earring ornaments, to the-' enqtnat the "improved i'artiol'emayhave a versatilityf'not' found'he'retofore.

me also an important object or this inventi'on e prqvi e an a r ng 9 ende efu p ini'hwl jichfi he.'ea t" 9 :-c mp nem is an ainfien nde 'por ibn*bfii he r i andi s' tand- TlT d db hBW e for di rq v a i n i'mf n 'inq t nem V 12a; nature; such that .the'mounting me ans and ii ie diiom t 'iwh ssembl d .Qon t fi i m r g'jmfien fiii t a l te a f fl iii he hgi s eth fOr tQ m I id va i y of ornaments eaoh mount for usewithjthe improved clampingmeans. i bi ct e a sath ven q mstq im lify fand improve the manufaoture of earring; articles iieu be nove r n t sfth a ri yiof. rnamen f"m b in er an ea y a oc a ed'w t t ndard clamp and in'the' respects that the ornamerits i'an'clf ornament mounts .fr'iay ibe; manufacture'dat reduced eostjs'i'nc'e individual clampsare "not'requiredto 'be madenp and secured thereto.

v ipointedout in the eou-rse'of the detailed desorip- 7 tion relating to'a preferred embodiment'of the invention, reference ,being had-to the accompanying drawing, in which:

"Fig; '1 is 'ap'er'spe'ctive view of the present ear- *ring' construction showing, inariexploded illus- "tram-on; the important reetures of the invention;

' Fig; 2 is a sideview'; in-"elevatiomofthe earring 10f, ner l stan r provided with a ;staridard'- treatise-nearer a, itae 'ser'iel' nol 7005926 (01. 6314) Fig. 3 is a top plan view, partly insection, diselosinglfurtheredetai-ls of the invention, and

f'Figi 4jisi'a'frnodifiedfoim :of ornament mount- "ingimeans. l 5 l In-thei-drawing; the improved and novel earring i-in'clude's' an ear. Jobeiclampin'gl assembly C, an ornament mount and an ornament which may havea variety of forms,fbut for. present purposes :is'indi'oatedzin phantoinoutline in- Fig. 1 and" in lofullli'neiin Fig. 2'at O. v v *The'ilpresent form and construction of clamp J as'semb ly'Ciembodies'a rectilinear frame fijhaving '"side fianges'6 and abottom flange 1 formed intei grailyflther'ewith. 1 These ifianged vportions are 15 f'orm'ed-to li'eiiniaz plane in 'frontqof the plane of titheframe" B'Vtmdefine azguide-way for receiving t'he"mountingimeansiM'fat its upper side. 'The -rframe' ii with 'its'fiangesBand I is shownas rectan'gularin'tgenerai outline; however; other shapes maybe'seleoted'ifdesired,as for the purpose of making the clamp-more pleasing in appearance. Itis-preTerred;-but not strictly i essential that the ola mp frame be'formedof metal," that is either a base metal having a plated" surface finish or a ""preci'ous or semiepre'cious metal. "Moreover, all or a .part'of'theb'ody 'of'f-rame 5 may be cut out '-'"or perforated in adesired'ipattern, as suggested 'in' Figfl.

Frame5 carriesfa pair of curved arms 8 suitably 3i)" joined'thereto atFspaced' zones. of the bottom surface"of the'fiange 1 (Figs: 2 and 3). These arms are smoothly *curved "and directed rearwardly d upwardly Zin a convergent manner for interorine'ctiorf ands'eourem'entat" abearing element "The arms B' 'andeIementSmay be separately or'med 'arid'l'a'ter joined to 'each" other, "or they may"b efinte'grally fdrm'ed "'andshaped from a single piece: of metal 1 or other suitable material.

'The"be"aring element 9 receives a threaded 40 thumb screw Hi'ha'ving knurled head H and a p'ressu'r pea T2, the T latter "being secured to the 'srew I 6 in any suitable" manner after the screw j'lohas'been threadeiily mounted in the element 9. ""In'u'sefthe pad l2'is 'ad'justedto permit the clamp .0 h i b it ial fi fi t a dvahtagesiwililibe-f 4'5 assembly C to'be positioned with the'eariobe etween it ahdfthe -rear -surface of "the frame 5. Grniallythe pair of fiur-ved arms 8 "willl'ie'si'iugiy aiija'ont t-he 'lower margins of th ear lobe soas to be inconspipuo'u'afahd "when this pref erred *'p6s'itibn=is obtained" the" screw may be "threaded ."-ii'iwar tily"to press the ear lobe against the frame 5" Without riece'ssarilw'pin'chihg or causing an .unoomfortable"feeling. Of course, the clamp fassembly C. may'b e adjustedby the "wearer with *orwithoutfirst having mounted the ornament.

anaiii In Figs. 1 and 2, the mount M for the ornament is formed of a single piece of metal, plastic or other material which is suitable for the purpose in view. In a preferred form this mount M has a base portion [4 and an upper leaf portion which is convexly formed or gracefully curved forwardly and then rearwardly relative to the plane of base l4, as suggested by the showing of Fig. 2. One of the principal advantages in forming the base and leaf portions l4 and [5 of mount M in this manner'is to obtain a desired degree of angularity for the ornament 0 such that it will lie in front of and assume a natural position relative to the general formation of the ear. The mount M is intended to be a standardized part, at least with respect to the base l4 thereof so that it may be received in the standard clamp frame 5. The upper leaf portion [5 may have the curved form suggested by Figs. 1 and 2, or it may be varied to suit the type and nature of the ornament carried thereby.

Another advantage in arranging and forming the base l4 and leaf in the manner shown by Figs. 1 and 2 resides in the extent to which the ornament may hide or conceal the ear, especially of a person utilizing a hearing aid. It is often recognized that a person requiring the use of a hearing aid will hesitate before accepting its benefits or will flatly reject the same, one reason being that hearing aids are not particularly pleasing in appearance. With an earring ornament mount of the present character it will be appreciated that the curved leaf portion l5 forms a concealing pocket in front of the tragus and concha portions of the ear wherein the ear portion of the hearing aid is located when in use. With certain modifications in the curvature and projection of the leaf portion l5 relative to its base, and in the character of the ornament, the mount and its ornament may be arranged to conceal the type of hearing aid which is placed behind the ear helix in the region of the mastoid process of the temporal bone. Therefore, the present earring may have other than a purely ornamental use in its broader aspects. The prin-;

cipal use of this nature being noted above.

When assembling mount M in the clamp frame 5, the base portion I4 is received in the guideway defined by and between the frame 5 and the spaced flanges 6 and 1. As the base I4 slides inwardly its opposite edges are frictionally engaged by holding projections I6 (Figs. 1 and 3) inwardly struck from the material of each flange 6. The engagement is preferably just sufficient to prevent un ntended displacement of the mount M. Some reliance is placed upon the resiliency of flanges 6 for maintaining the requisite frictional holding force, and for taking up whatever slight amount of wear occurs in the projections IE or the side edges of the base 14 of the mount M.

The ornament 0 may be conveniently secured to the mount M by means of a short spacer lug or connector I! fixed to the base I and to the rear side of the ornament O. The leaf [5 also provides a point or surface l8 for securement of the ornament O. Lug I1 is not necessarily initially placed on the base H but may be a deposit of solder or brazing material at the time of a sembly of the ornament.

Generally it is desirable to keep down or reduce the weight of the mount M, and this may be accomplished by the use of a suitably perforated or meshed material as suggested in Fi 1. It is within the contemplation of this invention that the mount M may be formed from a metal s 4 or plastic material having the requisite gauge and stiffness.

A desirable modification in the character of the mount M of Fig. 1 is disclosed at M in Fig. 4 wherein only the base portion Ma is utilized to carry an ornament. This portion also is provided with a lug or connector lla to which the ornament is secured. Thus a relatively small ornament may be utilizedin the present clamp assembly in place of the larger type of ornament 0 suggested in Fig. 2. In either case the mount base portion l4 or modified base I ia are fully interchangeably mountable in the guideway of the frame 5.

' It will now have appeared from the above detailed description of the invention that the present improvement in earring construction embodies the new principle of a standardized ear lobe clamp assembly formed and arranged to provide a guideway for receiving and releasably holding a mount M, in which the mount has a standardized base portion Hi. It is also clearly apparent now that the mount M is adapted to carry and support an ornament and acts to fix the position or setting of the ornament at a natural angular relation with respect to the general configuration of the human ear.

While the foregoing and other features of the invention are best disclosed by the present preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that certain variants and modifications may be suggested hereby without in any way departing from the spirit in which this disclosure is given or departing from the full intended scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An earring comprising, in combination, a frame formed to define a guide-way which is open along one margin, ear lobe clamping means secured to said frame in position to clamp the ear lobe against said frame, and mounting means for an ornament formed and arranged to include a base portion which is removably positionable in said frame guide-way through the open margin thereof.

2. An earring comprising, in combination, an ear lobe clamp assembly formed to include a frame having flanged margins defining a guideway, and a threaded clamping element operably carried by said frame in spaced, ear lobe clamping cooperation therewith; and mounting means for an ornament, said mounting means including a base portion and a leaf portion extending from the base portion, said base and leaf portions cooperating to carry an ornament.

3. In an article of jewelry of the earring class, the new and improved combination, of a frame formed with integral marginal flanges, spaced arms secured to said frame and curving rearwardly and upwardly in converging relation for interconnection rearwardly of the frame, a clamping element threadedly mounted at said interconnection of the arms for clamping adjustment of the ear lobe against the frame, and an ornament mount formed to be removably received between and retained by said frame I flanges, said mount having a lug carried thereon from, bearing means secured to and interconnecting said arm members, a threaded element mounted in said bearing means for threading adjustment relative to said frame releasably to clamp the ear lobe therebetween, and earring ornament mounting means, said mounting means being formed to provide a rectilinear base portion receivable in said frame guide-way, and a leaf portion extending therefrom, the base and leaf portions mutually cooperating to support the earring ornament relative to said frame.

5. An article of jewelry of the earring class providing an ear lobe attachment and ornament mount, adapted for the removable support of any selected one of a given plurality of earring ornaments, each ornament having a mount individual thereto, said article comprising a frame formed with marginal flanges which define a frame guideway, a pair of arms, each secured to said frame at spaced zones and extending rearwardly, a bearing element secured to and interconnecting each arm, a clamping element threadedly mounted in said bearing element and operable for clamping the ear lobe against said frame, and an ornament mount cooperably positionable in said frame guide-way, said mount providing a base portion to be engaged by said marginal flanges for removable retention in the frame guide-way.

6. An article of jewelry as defined in claim 5, and further characterized in that opposed marginal flanges are each formed with an inwardly directed projection for frictionally engaging the adjacent surface of said ornament mount base portion for retaining the latter against unintended displacement relative to and outwardly of said frame guide-way.

7. In an article of jewelry of the earring class, the new and improved combination, of a frame having side and bottom flanges formed thereon to define a guide-way open along the top, a threaded clamp element, means operably securing said clamp element on said frame for engaging and pressing the ear lobe against the frame, an earring ornament, and an ornament mount to which the ornament is secured, said mount being formed of a decoratively perforated or meshed material to provide a base portion receivable through the open top of said frame guide-way, and an outwardly curved and upwardly directed leaf portion, such that the ornament secured to the base and leaf portions will assume a position substantially in front of and conforming with the natural upward and outward formation of the human ear.

8. An earring clamp assembly comprising a frame having marginal flanges defining a guideway at the front face of the frame, a pair of arms secured to said frame at spaced points thereon and directed rearwardly in converging relation, a bearing element carried by and interconnecting said arms, and an adjustable clamping element threadedly mounted in said bearing element for clamping the ear lobe against the rear face of said frame.

9. Mounting means for an earring ornament comprising a base portion, a leaf portion integral with said base portion, said portions being formed of a decoratively perforated or meshed material, and lug means on said base portion projecting from the facing surface thereof for securement of an ornament, said leaf portion being convexly curved relative to the facing surface of said base portion to provide a surface of securement for the ornament which is spaced from said means on the base portion.

MARY C. SCHOBER. PHILIP E. SCHOBER. 

